Trend Micro DirectPass Makes Secure Password Management Easy

London, 12th March 2012 – Trend Micro, a global leader in Internet content security, today announced DirectPass, a new online tool designed to fight the growing menace of identity theft by simplifying and securing the log-in process for users no matter how many different accounts they manage online.

According to recent research from CIFAS, the UK Fraud Protection Service, more than half of all fraud in the UK is internet-based. Identity theft can result in fraud costing government, financial institutions and users millions of pounds a year.

CIFAS’ report shows that the internet had become a hotbed of unauthorised account takeovers. Identity thieves are typically able to hack into accounts and gain access to valuable information much more easily if passwords are simple to guess. In an effort to reduce the amount of complex passwords to be remembered, consumers often use default or easy to guess passwords and frequently re-use them for multiple sites and across multiple devices. The threat of ID fraud is made even greater with a rise in keylogging malware which cyber criminals are using to capture passwords as they are typed in by users in order to break into accounts.

Trend Micro DirectPass manages all passwords and login IDs in one secure location, automatically filling personal information into web forms accurately and safely. It offers online security through a safe browsing experience, protecting users from a broad range of network, keylogging and Trojan-based attacks, while blocking malicious browser plug-ins that can compromise system security. The software features cloud synchronisation technology that enables users to access sensitive sites from virtually any device across a number of mobile operating platforms.

DirectPass monitors thousands of web sites to assess multi-layer login patterns and keep client software safe from the latest threats. It quickly, easily and automatically generates secure passwords that users don’t have to remember. It securely stores confidential data related to an online account, along with any other confidential text data. Best of all, DirectPass is simple to use.

“There is always the chance that someone can get hold of your information without your knowing”, said Rik Ferguson, Director of Security Research and Communication at Trend Micro. “DirectPass offers consumers an extra layer of security against ID fraud when accessing sensitive online sites such as banks while removing the headache of juggling multiple passwords.”

Case study:
Lucy Richards, a busy mum of two from St Albans learnt a valuable lesson in password protection following the theft of her hotmail password: “My email account was hacked, used to reset our eBay password and consequently the account’s linked bank account was changed. After gaining access we saw that batches of ten pairs of UGG boots were put on sale at a cost of around £100 each pair. Luckily eBay picked up on the suspicious activity, and suspended the account before the sales went through. I was unable to log into the email account as the password had been changed so had to go through security procedures to recover the account. It was a really lucky escape, and a big lesson learnt in password protection. It was all too easy to get the hotmail password which made it easy to reset other passwords and access other accounts. It was lucky that our PayPal account was linked to another bank account otherwise things could have been a lot worse.”

Key features include:

Password Management

Manage all passwords and login IDs in one secure location

Seamlessly login to web sites without the need to re-enter credentials – users only have to remember one password